The General Libraries Digital Library Services Division (DLSD) provides support, management, and expertise for the development of digital collections. DLSD manages system design and integration to provide access to these collections for users at UT Austin and for distance learners throughout Texas. Consequently, DLSD continues to provide technical and end-user support for the growing number of digital assets associated with the Library's commitment to the provision of network based information and services. DLSD activities include:
The General Libraries and DLSD keep abreast of an ever increasing amount of digital information by employing traditional information science theory and modern technological advances to maintain a robust information system. Continual re-assessment of the current information technology system and the needs of the UT community drive improvements. DLSD is exploring the application of its methodology to a wider audience of digital content providers. Our experience with integrating numerous divergent digital resources can serve as a guide for developing a system providing an underlying framework for uniting the University’s digital content producing community. The benefit of which is to effectively provide access, management and preservation services to UT’s unique digital assets.
The Digital Assets Management System (DAMS) is intended to provide an infrastructure for enabling a relational digital network uniting UT’s digital assets in a system that will enhance the discovery process for faculty, students, staff, and the public. In addition to providing cross-collection searching DAMS offers assistance to digital information producers in the areas of creation, management, access, metadata production, storage, and preservation of digital assets.
A united digital community will benefit not only the University and its students and faculty, but also the different departments responsible for creating and serving digital content. Management of digital collections and ensuring long-term retention and preservation are difficult tasks. Significant costs incurred from acquiring and maintaining file storage for multiple small entities and collections can be reduced through a federated file storage system. Allowing DLSD to host and store digital assets from many entities across campus positions DLSD in a favorable position when negotiating the purchase of hardware and software. Letting DLSD manage digital collections will free up the digital content producing staff’s time allowing them the opportunity to focus efforts on digitizing efforts or metadata creation.
Leading research and development by such groups as the National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure (NPACI) and the development of the nation-wide Grid computing system indicate the future of digital libraries and scientific research lies in the cooperation of multiple digital knowledge producing entities through systems of data management that are inter-operable because of common underlying assumptions. The development of DAMS for the University of Texas at Austin is precisely such a system. Combined support for the system during its early development will better position the University’s digital resources for a place in a larger computer system in the future.
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